Best Puppy & Dog Food

my vet said i should start to change her food to a better quality food than the one the breeders fed her. so which in your opinion is best for a growing hyperactive as hell rottie puppy: 1) Science Diet 2) Eukanuba or 3) Purina Pro Plan?
p.s. cost is not an issue

None of the ones you listed are very good.
Look for a better food such as Canidae, Wellness, Chicken Soup, Innova, California Natural just to name a few.

-Timberwolf Organics
-Taste Of The Wild
-Canidae
-Blue BuffaloBlue Wilderness
-Diamond Extreme Athlete (Or another food by Diamond)
-Innova Evo
-Solid Gold

I want to feed them the best. Something that is going to give them glossy good looking coats, muscle, and just overall great health.

Honestly I have tried all of those above and they all have too high of protein for my dog, giving him the runs. Seriously though, its terrible. Every dog is different, especially when it comes to the sensitivity of a pit’s skin. I feed him Nature’s Recipe – Healthy Skin, Venison Meal & Rice. His coat is always flawless, and he is one beasty boy. haha.

We fed our chi Royal Canine 28 he hated it We tried Iams small bites he hated it, Now we are trying Avoderm small bites, he likes it more than the others. What are the best quality dog foods?

This is a hotly debated topic for many dog owners on Y!A. I, personally, have a preference for Natural Balance.

I feed my dog Natural Balance Ultra Premium formula because he has a highly sensitive digestive system. I’ll season it with a little wet food (Natural Balance Limited Ingredients Diet) or some chicken broth for flavor.

I’d steer clear of Iams because it has a lot of fillers instead of nutrients.

Hi i have got a 2 year old femal labrador im hoping people reading this maybe able to help me with this question..

What would you higly recommend me if i was to change my dogs food from commerical dog for to real food which we all buy are selves on a weekly bases and please give me your experience as to why!… Thank you all for your feed back what ever that may be

Research BARF diet – you’ve had some ridiculous answers on here.
My dogs are fed on raw minced tripe (green tripe, not the white stuff you can get from the butcher) , beef & lamb, I buy in bulk and freeze it, they also have uncooked bones, chicken carcases (raw, of course) raw eggs (a couple a week), tinned sardines, raw minced veg. They also have ordinary wholemeal mixer.
They rarely have digestive problems (usually from eating something decomposing that they’ve found), never have skin problems or allergies and have excellent coats & plenty of energy!
Well done on not wanting to feed her on 100% processed food which is what commercial diets are. I wouldn’t want to live on a diet of processed food & don’t expect my dogs to either.

I have a hard time trying to find a right food for my pekingese sleeve. He is almost a year old now. I just starting feeding him CA Nature’s Variety kibble foods and I notice he has a hard time chewing it. Is this normal for this kind of breed?

Our pets need quality food. Read the ingredients list and learn what the stuff on there is and what it does (or does not do) to/for our pets. A quick pet food 101. If the pet food contains corn/corn products or by products it is a poor quality food. Corn is a filler that can trigger skin problems. (allergies, skin problems, itching and excessive shedding) By products is anything from an animal not fit for human consumption, including cancerous tissue. Do not pay attention to advertising, they all say there food is great. "Vet approved" means they have a vet on staff to approve their product. In other words, someone paid to approve it. Same with foods most vets recommend. Salesmen "gift" vets then the vet recommends the food. Most vets are not nutritionists! Quality foods have meat as the first ingredient Wellness, Solid Gold, Innova and Merrick are a few of the best brands available. If you want to learn more check out: http://www.sagekeep.com/petfood.htm www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359& more=1 http://animalark.eapps.com/animal/PetFoods.nsf/$$PetFoodsByRating?OpenForm

AAFCO’s "Required testing" of pet foods

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The ad reads: "Our pet foods are made following AAFCO guidelines and must pass stringent testing." This sounds good, until we take a close look at the AAFCO test guidelines. "The Testing Protocols For Providing An Unqualified Representation of Nutritional Adequacy For A Dog Or Cat Food" are spelled out in the book, Official Publication, 1994, Association of American Feed Control Officials Incorporated.
For adult maintenance dog food to pass the AAFCO test:
8 dogs older than 1 yr. must start the test.
At start all dogs must be normal weight & health.
A blood test is to be taken from each dog at the start and finish of the test.
For 6 months, the dogs used must only eat the food being tested.
The dogs finishing the test must not lose more than 15% of their body weight.
During the test, none of the dogs used are to die or be removed becasue of nutritional causes.
6 of the 8 dogs starting must finish the test.
That’s all there is to it.
http://home.att.net/~wdcusick/04.html

I got a great dane yesterday, and he’s a year and a half old. The previous owner was feeding him Nutro Max, but I’ve been reading up on it and it seems to have some bad reviews. I also heard that Pedigree is really bad for them, so I won’t feed him that.
Also, he needs to gain weight. Are there any particular foods I should be feeding him for this? I heard a bit of raw chicken every other day will help him to pack on weight.

We can spout off good foods until we all turn blue, but it’s all a matter of which ones you can find. A good dog food is typically made just of meats, without a grain. But, if there is a grain, it must be wholesome. Dogs, being carnivores, do not process grains well at all. You want to look for a food that doesn’t use filler (corn, wheat and brewers rice) and no by-product. They’re used to make cheap dog foods and don’t do anything good for the dog. More is digestible in these foods, which leads to a better formed stool, and less of it. And, a healthier dog. For the price tags, you dog will end up eating much less for the same nutritional equivalent of nutro max or pedigree. They feel full faster, and are not always looking for food, and you’ll notice a difference in his coat after just a few weeks. My dog, a german shepherd/mastiff mix, is said to need to eat 71/2 cups a day of pedigree to stay healthy. He eats maybe 4 a day of Taste of the Wild, and will actually leave food in the bowl.

Blue Buffalo, Wellness, Innova, Canadae, Nutro Ultra (only Ultra is the good one, not the others), Taste of the Wild, Eagle Pack… the list goes on. Check some of these out online to get an idea of what you need to look for, then hit your local pet store and find one you like.

We have two puppies. The older one is 13 months old and the younger one is 3 months old. We feed the older one Hill’s prescription diet because he tends to get a skin rash. The younger one gets puppy food plus an additive for tears. Clearly they should not be eating each others foods and we have a good handle on it when we’re home. But when we’re not home, its a free-for-all. They both eat well, just not their own foods. They treat it like a buffet.

Does anyone have any useful tricks or strategies that can solve our problem?

Thanks

Feed separately.
Mine are fed in their crates. I feed morning and evening; measure out 1/2 their allotted portion for the day and put it in their crates. (I do not shut the doors, though you may need to with yours.)
If you don’t have at least one crate, put them in separate rooms. After 5-10 minutes, pick up any uneaten food and put it away. They will quickly learn to polish it off before it disappears for the day.
DO NOT free feed (by that I mean leave it out in the bowl all day)

I know better food is better, but if you are retired and live off of $840 a month, and you can’t afford, the custom brands, which is better. don’t answer if you are going to say, canide, natural brand, or some other one thousand dollar a bag dog food. of purina, pedigree, alpo, which are the best. if you answer buy the best, wait unil you are 63 and live off social security.

I honestly don’t know too much about these other than they all include meat by-products and grains which are not good for dogs. Alpo scares me so I’d stay away from that. I think Pedigree and Purina are nearly the same thing. Other than Pedigree spends way more on advertising.

Some dogs do quite well on these foods with minimal issues (most being skin issues). Growing up, we had an Aussie that we apparently fed the same type of food as these. I didn’t know anything about it but she was an extremely healthy, shiny, silky coated dog that was always happy and energetic.

Currently, my three are fed raw now. One of them is allergic to grains. The difference between buying raw meat is cheaper than paying for kibble and all the vet bills.

So if your dog is one of those that seems to do well on the name brand kibbles then I’d say Pedigree or Purina out of those choices. Beneful is extremely bad since the food colouring and semi-moist pieces are completely unnecessary. But if your dog is extremely itchy and miserable on these name brands, then I’d suggest a something grain-free like Natural Balance, as it is not extremely expensive and your dog will be happier, as will you without having to deal with lots of vet bills.

my 1 1/2 year old pit has severe allergies to grain and gluten products. I have tried Taste of the Wild dog food, Dick Van Pattens, and she refuses to eat either one of them. She loves Iams but it contains barley. Any idea what I can get her?

I like Orijen – my dogs do really, really well on it. There’s also Innova EVO you could consider.

I have 2 senior dogs and I feed them Solid Gold Holistic dog food
and I have a 1 yr old and feed her Wolf King by Solid Gold
Is there a better dog food I could use and could you explain why and any websites would be great. Thank you

If your dogs are doing well on those foods, then I see no reason to switch. Solid Gold is a good brand.

Obviously, some brands are far better quality than others, but there is no "best" brand. One dog may do well on a brand, while another may have food allergies to that particular brand.

Go with what you can obtain, afford, and what your dogs are doing well on.

Some good brands are

Solid Gold
Wellness
Blue Buffallo
Innova
Evo
California Natural
Newman’s Own
Chicken Soup
Merrick’s
Timberwolf Organics
Eagle Pack
Pinnacle
Avoderm